WAVERLY, Tenn. (WTVF) — Three years ago, Humphreys County residents woke up to flooded homes, rushing water and a devastating situation impacting their community.
The community of Waverly was hit particularly hard during the heavy flood in 2021.
It claimed 20 lives and destroyed hundreds of homes, businesses and buildings throughout the area.
Saturday night, a vigil held outside Waverly Junior high school drew over 100 people, who sang together and watched the unveiling of the new memorial for the flood victims.
They also heard from their local representatives, including Governor Bill Lee and state Senator Kerry Roberts.
“The tragedy, the trauma, the grief, PTSD when it rains hard…people still deal with the effects of what happened and the loss, said pastor Daron Brown, who lived through the ordeal.
“We're a small town. We're not real huge, so when we lose one, it's like we lose 100," added Georgene Matsuyama.
Three years later, there’s still many homes, and even schools, that need help rebuilding.
“We’ve been though so much together: so much loss together, so much rebuilding together,” Brown continued. “It was such a massive event that affected our community in profound ways. There’s no way we won’t be able to remember.”
Senator Roberts will also soon complete his 100-mile bike ride from his home in Springfield to the Humphreys County Courthouse in remembrance of the lives lost.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nikki.hauser@newschannel5.com.
I LOVE Forrest's stories on the history of NewsChannel 5 as we celebrate our 70th anniversary. Here's a story I wasn't familiar with until recently. Eudora Boxley had a live cooking show in the early days of the station. She may have been the first black on air at NewsChannel 5 and perhaps, one of the first African Americans to have a TV cooking show anywhere in the country. It wasn't until her grandson reached out to me that I even heard of Ms. Boxley. Thankfully, I was able to connect him with Forest to learn more about this great nugget in NewsChannel 5 history.
-Lelan Statom
